Brian Flores, Jordan Mason turn up the heat for Minnesota Vikings

Ben Johnson went 4-0 with 122 points scored (30.5) as a Lions offensive coordinator facing Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Johnson was on his way to 5-0 with what was a laugher in his Bears coaching debut Monday night in Chicago. Then Flores woke up and apparently remembered that he’s the blitz-craziest coordinator in football. With Flores calling a conservative game early, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams started 10-for-10 for 86 yards, a 102.5 passer rating and a 9-yard touchdown run. With Flores throwing caution to the wind and attacking the elusive Williams, the second-year QB completed only 11 of his final 25 passes while looking flustered in a fourth quarter in which the Vikings outscored the Bears 21-7 and outgained them 169-64 as they turned a 17-6 deficit into a 27-24 stunner.

Speaking of forgotten strengths, reigning NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell shouldn’t have waited until the third series to get big back Jordan Mason on the field. The Vikings had three carries for 9 yards, two three-and-outs and two sacks allowed before the 223-pound Mason first touched the ball and brought calm to an overwhelmed J.J. McCarthy. Mason started the third series with two 6-yard runs. It led to a field goal. Trailing 17-6, he began the fourth quarter with runs of 7 and 18 yards, opening up passes of 17 and 13 yards and a touchdown to Justin Jefferson. Mason finished with 68 yards on 15 carries, a long of 19 that began the Vikings’ final touchdown drive, and a 4.5-yard average for a team that hasn’t averaged more than 4.3 yards a carry for a season since 2020.

For Vikings fans unfamiliar with the concept since the Marcus Sherels Era, punt returners are allowed to advance the ball. The Vikings appear to have found someone capable of doing that. In the first four returns of his first NFL game, Myles Price, the undrafted rookie from Indiana, topped the team’s 2024 season-long return of a whopping 15 yards by Brandon Powell three times. Price had returns of 20, 18 and 22 yards. The first two were wasted by McCarthy’s pick-six and a three-and-out. But the 22-yarder to the 50-yard line set up a three-play touchdown drive that gave the Vikings their first lead, 20-17, early in the fourth quarter. The Vikings haven’t had a punt return for a touchdown since 2016. Prediction time: Price will end that drought this year.

Dear Vikings fans who live to complain about officials: Admit you got a well-timed gift from the zebra who called pass interference on Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson when Jalen Nailor simply slipped and fell on third-and-1 from the Chicago 41 in the fourth quarter. The 14-yard penalty led to a 27-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones and the Vikings’ first lead of the game on the next snap. The Vikings got another favorable call earlier when Chicago defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo was called for roughing the passer after doing exactly what he’s supposed to do — avoid McCarthy’s helmet and hitting him in the chest. Let’s stop assuming that all violent hits on the QB are illegal. McCarthy bailed the Bears out by throwing his pick-six. Johnson also helped the Vikings out by passing up a 42-yard field goal and failing to convert with a pass on fourth-and-3 at a time the Bears led 7-3 and just needed points to keep from having their dominant start stall out.

The stat sheet says Ryan Wright punted seven times for a 47.6-yard average and a 42.3 net. That’s pretty good for a fourth-year pro who had to fight off undrafted Australian rookie Oscar Chapman to keep his job. Monday’s numbers are similar to Wright’s finest season, a rookie year that saw him average 47.4 yards per punt with a career-best net of 42.3. The Vikings won the game, so this point is picking nits. But … in what was an ugly field-position struggle early on, Wright uncorked a dud of 31 yards that gave the Bears possession at their 35. Three plays later, the Vikings got the ball at their 15 via punt. Three plays after that, the Bears got the ball at their 41 via punt and needed only 31 yards to kick a field goal for a 10-3 lead. Those are hidden yards lost by a punter who still needs to be more consistent in his fourth season.

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